Mobile robot with a head-based movement mapping scheme

ABSTRACT

A robotic system that includes a mobile robot and a remote input device. The input device may be a joystick that is used to move a camera and a mobile platform of the robot. The system may operate in a mode where the mobile platform moves in a camera reference coordinate system. The camera reference coordinate system is fixed to a viewing image provided by the camera so that movement of the robot corresponds to a direction viewed on a screen. This prevents disorientation during movement of the robot if the camera is panned across a viewing area.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The subject matter disclosed generally relates to the field of robotics.

2. Background Information

There is a growing need to provide remote health care to patients that have a variety of ailments ranging from Alzheimers to stress disorders. To minimize costs it is desirable to provide home care for such patients. Home care typically requires a periodic visit by a health care provider such as a nurse or some type of assistant. Due to financial and/or staffing issues the health care provider may not be there when the patient needs some type of assistance. Additionally, existing staff must be continuously trained, which can create a burden on training personnel.

The assignee of this invention(s), InTouch-Health, Inc. markets a remote controlled mobile robot under the trademark COMPANION that can be used by medical personnel to remotely “visit” patients. The COMPANION system includes a mobile robot with a camera, monitor, microphone, speakers, and other equipment that allow for two-way audio/visual communication between the patient and someone operating the system from a remotely located computer.

The COMPANION system includes a joystick that can be manipulated to move a mobile platform of the robot. A forward pivot of the joystick causes a corresponding forward movement of the mobile platform. The joystick button can be depressed to move the camera and allow the user to pan a room. Unfortunately, panning the camera may cause the forward viewing direction depicted by the screen to be different than the forward vector of the mobile platform. A forward pivot of the joystick will cause an angular movement of the robot relative to the field of view provided by the robot camera. This can cause disorientation and in general complicates movement of the robot.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A mobile robot system that is controlled through an input device. The system includes a robot that has a camera located in a camera reference coordinate system, and a mobile platform. The input device causes movement of the camera, and movement of the mobile platform within the camera reference coordinate system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a robotic system;

FIG. 2 is a schematic of an electrical system of a robot;

FIG. 3 is a further schematic of the electrical system of the robot;

FIG. 4 is side view of the robot;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a mapping scheme for a joystick of the system;

FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of a holonomic platform of the robot;

FIG. 7 is a side perspective view of a roller assembly of the holonomic platform;

FIG. 8 is a bottom perspective view showing a pedestal assembly of the robot;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing an actuator of the pedestal assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Disclosed is a robotic system that includes a mobile robot and a remote input device. The input device may be a joystick that is used to move a camera and a mobile platform of the robot. The system may operate in a mode where the mobile platform moves in a camera reference coordinate system. The camera reference coordinate system is fixed to a viewing image provided by the camera so that movement of the robot corresponds to a direction viewed on a screen. This prevents disorientation during movement of the robot if the camera is panned across a viewing area.

Referring to the drawings more particularly by reference numbers, FIG. 1 shows a robotic system 10. The robotic system 10 includes a robot 12, a base station 14 and a remote control station 16. The remote control station 16 may be coupled to the base station 14 through a network 18. By way of example, the network 18 may be either a packet switched network such as the Internet, or a circuit switched network such has a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), or other broadband system. The base station 14 may be coupled to the network 18 by a modem 20 or other broadband network interface device.

The remote control station 16 may include a computer 22 that has a monitor 24, a camera 26, a microphone 28 and a speaker 30. The computer 22 may also contain an input device 32 such as a joystick or a mouse. The joystick 32 may have a toggle button 33 that allows the system to operate in two different modes. In one mode the robot moves in a platform reference coordinate system. In another mode the robot moves in a camera reference coordinate system.

The control station 16 is typically located in a place that is remote from the robot 12. Although only one robot 12 and one station 16 are shown, it is to be understood that the system 10 may have a plurality of robots 12 and/or a plurality of remote stations that communicate through the broadband network. In general any number of robots 12 may be controlled by any number of remote stations 16. For example, one remote station 16 may be coupled to a plurality of robots 12, or one robot 12 may be coupled to a plurality of remote stations 16.

The robot 12 includes a mobile platform 34 that is attached to a robot housing 36. Also attached to the robot housing 36 are a camera 38, a monitor 40, a microphone(s) 42 and a speaker 44. The microphone 42 and speaker 30 may create a stereophonic sound. The robot 12 may also have an antenna 45 that is wirelessly coupled to an antenna 46 of the base station 14. The system 10 allows a user at the remote control station 16 to move the robot 12 through the input device 32. The robot camera 38 is coupled to the remote monitor 24 so that a user at the remote station 16 can view a patient. Likewise, the robot monitor 40 is coupled to the remote camera 26 so that the patient can view the user. The microphones 28 and 42, and speakers 30 and 44, allow for audible communication between the patient and the user.

Each remote station computer 22 may operate Microsoft OS software and WINDOWS XP or other operating systems such as LINUX. The remote computer 22 may also operate a video driver, a camera driver, an audio driver and a joystick driver. The video images may be transmitted and received with compression software such as MPEG CODEC.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show an embodiment of the robot 12. The robot 12 may include a high level control system 50 and a low level control system 52. The high level control system 50 may include a processor 54 that is connected to a bus 56. The bus is coupled to the camera 38 by an input/output (I/O) port 58, and to the monitor 40 by a serial output port 60 and a VGA driver 62. The monitor 40 may include a touchscreen function that allows the patient to enter input by touching the monitor screen.

The speaker 44 is coupled to the bus 56 by a digital to analog converter 64. The microphone 42 is coupled to the bus 56 by an analog to digital converter 66. The high level controller 50 may also contain random access memory (RAM) device 68, a non-volatile RAM device 70 and a mass storage device 72 that are all coupled to the bus 62. The mass storage device 72 may contain medical files of the patient that can be accessed by the user at the remote control station 16. For example, the mass storage device 72 may contain a picture of the patient. The user, particularly a health care provider, can recall the old picture and make a side by side comparison on the monitor 24 with a present video image of the patient provided by the camera 38. The robot antennae 45 may be coupled to a wireless transceiver 74. By way of example, the transceiver 74 may transmit and receive information in accordance with IEEE 802.11b.

The controller 54 may operate with a LINUX OS operating system. The controller 54 may also operate MS WINDOWS along with video, camera and audio drivers for communication with the remote control station 16. Video information may be transceived using MPEG CODEC compression techniques. The software may allow the user to send e-mail to the patient and vice versa, or allow the patient to access the Internet. In general the high level controller 50 operates to control the communication between the robot 12 and the remote control station 16.

The high level controller 50 may be linked to the low level controller 52 by serial ports 76 and 78. The low level controller 52 includes a processor 80 that is coupled to a RAM device 82 and non-volatile RAM device 84 by a bus 86. The robot 12 contains a plurality of motors 88 and motor encoders 90. The encoders 90 provide feedback information regarding the output of the motors 88. The motors 88 can be coupled to the bus 86 by a digital to analog converter 92 and a driver amplifier 94. The encoders 90 can be coupled to the bus 86 by a decoder 96. The robot 12 also has a number of proximity sensors 98 (see also FIG. 1). The position sensors 98 can be coupled to the bus 86 by a signal conditioning circuit 100 and an analog to digital converter 102.

The low level controller 52 runs software routines that mechanically actuate the robot 12. For example, the low level controller 52 provides instructions to actuate the movement platform to move the robot 12. The low level controller 52 may receive movement instructions from the high level controller 50. The movement instructions may be received as movement commands from the remote control station 16. Although two controllers are shown, it is to be understood that the robot 12 may have one controller controlling the high and low level functions.

The various electrical devices of the robot 12 may be powered by a battery(ies) 104. The battery 104 may be recharged by a battery recharger station 106 (see also FIG. 1). The low level controller 52 may include a battery control circuit 108 that senses the power level of the battery 104. The low level controller 52 can sense when the power falls below a threshold and then send a message to the high level controller 50. The high level controller 50 may include a power management software routine that causes the robot 12 to move so that the battery 104 is coupled to the recharger 106 when the battery power falls below a threshold value. Alternatively, the user can direct the robot 12 to the battery recharger 106. Additionally, the battery 104 may be replaced or the robot 12 may be coupled to a wall power outlet by an electrical cord (not shown).

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the robot 12. The robot 12 may include a holonomic platform 110 that is attached to a robot housing 112. The holonomic platform 110 provides three degrees of freedom to allow the robot 12 to move in any direction.

The robot 12 may have a pedestal assembly 114 that supports the camera 38 and the monitor 40. The pedestal assembly 114 may have two degrees of freedom so that the camera 26 and monitor 24 can be swiveled and pivoted as indicated by the arrows.

The platform 110 is located within a platform reference coordinate system that may have axes X_(p), Y_(p) and Z_(p). By way of example, the y-axis Y_(p) may extend from a nose of the platform 110. The camera 38 is fixed to a camera reference coordinate system that may have axes X_(c), Y_(c) and Z_(c). The y-axis Y_(c) may extend perpendicular from the camera lens. When the robot is initialized, the y-axis Y_(c) of the camera coordinate system may be aligned with the y-axis Y_(p) of the platform coordinate system. A forward pivoting of the joystick 32 (shown in FIG. 1) may cause a corresponding movement of the platform 110 in the direction of the y-axis Y_(p) in the platform coordinate system.

The robot may have a drive vector that may have axes X_(d), Y_(d), and Z_(d) that is mapped to the camera coordinate system, the platform coordinate system or some other system. By way of example, the y-axis Y_(p) may extend in the direction of forward motion. Mapping includes the process of transforming an input command into a directional movement relative to one or more coordinate systems. The robot controller may perform certain algorithms to translate input commands to platform movement in accordance with a specified mapping scheme. For example, when the drive vector is mapped to the camera coordinate system the controller computes the drive vector of the input command relative to the camera coordinate system. In a platform mapping scheme the input drive vector is computed relative to the platform coordinate system. In yet another scheme the drive vector can be computed relative to another coordinate system, such as a world coordinate system (e.g. coordinate system relative to the ground) that is independent of the camera or platform coordinate systems. Mapping the drive vector to the camera coordinate system may be desirable because all movement would be relative to the image viewed by the user, providing a system that is intuitive to use.

A twisting of the joystick 32 may cause the camera 38 to swivel as indicated by arrows 4. For example, if the joystick 32 is twisted +45 degrees the camera 38 will pivot +45 degrees. Swiveling the camera 38 also moves the y-axis Y_(c) of the camera coordinate system, because the y-axis Y_(c) is fixed to the camera. This may be different than the drive direction. The remote station computer may operate a program to generate a command that will automatically rotate the platform 110 to realign the y-axis Y_(p) of the platform coordinate system with the y-axis Y_(c) of the camera coordinate system. For the above example, the platform 110 is rotated +45 degrees. This approach keeps the platform 110 aligned with the camera 38, so that any subsequent movement of the robot will be intuitive relative to the image provided by the camera. For example, a forward pivot of the joystick will induce a forward movement of the robot as viewed through the monitor of the remote station. In this driving scheme, the platform may not be aligned with the head. The computer may generate trajectory planning for the platform coordinate system to move into alignment with the head coordinate system over a period of time or distance traveled, with or without an initial delay in time or some distance.

The system may be configured so that pivotal movement of the joystick 32 may be mapped to a corresponding directional movement of the robot as shown in FIG. 5. For example, pivoting the joystick along the +45 degree line shown in FIG. 5 may cause the robot to move in a +45 degree direction relative to the y-axis Y_(c) of the camera coordinate frame. Alternatively, the camera may pan +45 degrees and the platform 110 may rotate +45 degrees before forward movement by the robot. The automatic panning and platform rotation causes the robot to move in a forward direction as depicted by the image provided by the camera. The robot may have a mode wherein the user can twist the joystick to pan the camera during robot movement such that the movement is not in the direction the camera is pointing. This allows the user to visually pan while moving the robot. The joystick may have a spring return that automatically returns the position of the stick when released by the user. This causes the camera to be aligned with the direction of movement.

In general the robot may have a number of different mapping schemes and relative, dependent or independent, movement between the camera, the platform and drive direction. Relative movement between the camera and platform may occur in a camera based mapping scheme, a platform based mapping scheme, or some other scheme.

Although, the automatic platform rotation commands have been described as be generated by the remote station computer, it is to be understood that the robot may determine the commands and signals necessary to re-orient the platform 110 and/or the camera 38. The robot 12 may include a potentiometer (not shown) that tracks the position of the camera and provides feedback to the low level controller 80. The low level controller 80 may automatically rotate the platform to align the y-axes Y_(c) and Y_(p) or otherwise compensate for camera movement. The mode button 33 may allow the operator to place the system in either a tracking mode or a normal mode. In the tracking mode the robot moves relative to the camera coordinate system so that movement is intuitive relative to the screen even when the camera is panned. In normal mode the robot moves within the platform coordinate system.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of a holonomic platform 110 may include three roller assemblies 120 that are mounted to a base plate 121. The roller assemblies 120 are typically equally spaced about the platform 110 and allow for movement in any direction, although it is to be understood that the assemblies may not be equally spaced.

The robot housing 112 may include a bumper 122. The bumper 122 may be coupled to optical position sensors 123 that detect when the bumper 122 has engaged an object. After engagement with the object the robot can determine the direction of contact and prevent further movement into the object.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of a roller assembly 120. Each assembly 120 may include a drive ball 124 that is driven by a pair of transmission rollers 126. The assembly 120 may include a retainer ring 128 and a plurality of bushings 130 that captures and allows the ball 124 to rotate in an x and y direction but prevents movement in a z direction. The assembly also holds the ball under the transmission rollers 126.

The transmission rollers 126 are coupled to a motor assembly 132. The assembly 132 corresponds to the motor 88 shown in FIG. 3. The motor assembly 132 includes an output pulley 134 attached to a motor 136. The output pulley 134 is coupled to a pair of ball pulleys 138 by a drive belt 140. The ball pulleys 138 are each attached to a transmission bracket 142. The transmission rollers 126 are attached to the transmission brackets 142.

Rotation of the output pulley 134 rotates the ball pulleys 138. Rotation of the ball pulleys 138 causes the transmission rollers 126 to rotate and spin the ball 124 through frictional forces. Spinning the ball 124 will move the robot 12. The transmission rollers 126 are constructed to always be in contact with the drive ball 124. The brackets 142 allow the transmission rollers 126 to freely spin in a direction orthogonal to the drive direction when one of the other roller assemblies 120 is driving and moving the robot 12.

As shown in FIG. 8, the pedestal assembly 114 may include a motor 150 that is coupled to a gear 152 by a belt 154. The gear 152 is attached to a shaft 156. The shaft 156 is attached to an arm 158 that is coupled to the camera 38 and monitor 40 by a bracket 160. Activation of the motor 150 rotates the gear 152 and sleeve 156, and causes the camera 38 and monitor 40 to swivel (see also FIG. 4) as indicated by the arrows 4.

As shown in FIG. 9, the assembly 114 may further include a tilt motor 162 within the arm 158 that can cause the monitor 40 and camera 38 to pivot as indicated by the arrows 5. The tilt motor 162 may rotate a worm 164 that rotates a worm gear 166. The pin 168 is rigidly attached to both the worm gear 166 and the bracket 160 so that rotation of the gear 166 pivots the camera 38 and the monitor 40. The camera 38 may also include a zoom feature to provide yet another degree of freedom for the operator.

In operation, the robot 12 may be placed in a home or a facility where one or more patients are to be monitored and/or assisted. The facility may be a hospital or a residential care facility. By way of example, the robot 12 may be placed in a home where a health care provider may monitor and/or assist the patient. Likewise, a friend or family member may communicate with the patient. The cameras and monitors at both the robot and remote control stations allow for teleconferencing between the patient and the person at the remote station(s).

The robot 12 can be maneuvered through the home or facility by manipulating the input device 32 at a remote station 16. The robot 10 may be controlled by a number of different users. To accommodate for this the robot may have an arbitration system. The arbitration system may be integrated into the operating system of the robot 12. For example, the arbitration technique may be embedded into the operating system of the high-level controller 50.

By way of example, the users may be divided into classes that include the robot itself, a local user, a caregiver, a doctor, a family member, or a service provider. The robot 12 may override input commands that conflict with robot operation. For example, if the robot runs into a wall, the system may ignore all additional commands to continue in the direction of the wall. A local user is a person who is physically present with the robot. The robot could have an input device that allows local operation. For example, the robot may incorporate a voice recognition system that receives and interprets audible commands.

A caregiver is someone who remotely monitors the patient. A doctor is a medical professional who can remotely control the robot and also access medical files contained in the robot memory. The family and service users remotely access the robot. The service user may service the system such as by upgrading software, or setting operational parameters.

The robot 12 may operate in one of two different modes; an exclusive mode, or a sharing mode. In the exclusive mode only one user has access control of the robot. The exclusive mode may have a priority assigned to each type of user. By way of example, the priority may be in order of local, doctor, caregiver, family and then service user. In the sharing mode two or more users may share access with the robot. For example, a caregiver may have access to the robot, the caregiver may then enter the sharing mode to allow a doctor to also access the robot. Both the caregiver and the doctor can conduct a simultaneous teleconference with the patient.

The arbitration scheme may have one of four mechanisms; notification, timeouts, queue and call back. The notification mechanism may inform either a present user or a requesting user that another user has, or wants, access to the robot. The timeout mechanism gives certain types of users a prescribed amount of time to finish access to the robot. The queue mechanism is an orderly waiting list for access to the robot. The call back mechanism informs a user that the robot can be accessed. By way of example, a family user may receive an e-mail message that the robot is free for usage. Tables I and II, show how the mechanisms resolve access request from the various users. TABLE I Access Medical Command Software/Debug Set User Control Record Override Access Priority Robot No No Yes (1) No No Local No No Yes (2) No No Caregiver Yes Yes Yes (3) No No Doctor No Yes No No No Family No No No No No Service Yes No Yes Yes Yes

TABLE II Requesting User Current User Local Caregiver Doctor Family Service Local Not Allowed Warn current user of Warn current user of Warn current user of Warn current user of pending user pending user pending user pending user Notify requesting Notify requesting user Notify requesting user Notify requesting user that system is in that system is in use that system is in use user that system is in use Set timeout = 5 m Set timeout = 5 m use Set timeout Call back No timeout Call back Caregiver Warn current user Not Allowed Warn current user of Warn current user of Warn current user of of pending user. pending user pending user pending user Notify requesting Notify requesting user Notify requesting user Notify requesting user that system is that system is in use that system is in use user that system is in in use. Set timeout = 5 m Set timeout = 5 m use Release control Queue or callback No timeout Callback Doctor Warn current user Warn current user of Warn current user of Notify requesting user Warn current user of of pending user pending user pending user that system is in use pending user Notify requesting Notify requesting Notify requesting user No timeout Notify requesting user that system is user that system is in that system is in use Queue or callback user that system is in in use use No timeout use Release control Set timeout = 5 m Callback No timeout Callback Family Warn current user Notify requesting Warn current user of Warn current user of Warn current user of of pending user user that system is in pending user pending user pending user Notify requesting use Notify requesting user Notify requesting user Notify requesting user that system is No timeout that system is in use that system is in use user that system is in in use Put in queue or Set timeout = 1 m Set timeout = 5 m use Release Control callback Queue or callback No timeout Callback Service Warn current user Notify requesting Warn current user of Warn current user of Not Allowed of pending user user that system is in request pending user Notify requesting use Notify requesting user Notify requesting user user that system is No timeout that system is in use that system is in use in use Callback No timeout No timeout No timeout Callback Queue or callback

The information transmitted between the station 16 and the robot 12 may be encrypted. Additionally, the user may have to enter a password to enter the system 10. A selected robot is then given an electronic key by the station 16. The robot 12 validates the key and returns another key to the station 16. The keys are used to encrypt information transmitted in the session.

The robot 12 and remote station 16 transmit commands through the broadband network 18. The commands can be generated by the user in a variety of ways. For example, commands to move the robot may be generated by moving the joystick 32 (see FIG. 1). The commands are preferably assembled into packets in accordance with TCP/IP protocol. Table III provides a list of control commands that are generated at the remote station and transmitted to the robot through the network. TABLE III Control Commands Command Example Description drive drive 10.0 0.0 5.0 The drive command directs the robot to move at the specified velocity (in cm/sec) in the (x, y) plane, and turn its facing at the specified rate (degrees/sec). goodbye goodbye The goodbye command terminates a user session and relinquishes control of the robot gotoHomePosition gotoHomePosition 1 The gotoHomePosition command moves the head to a fixed “home” position (pan and tilt), and restores zoom to default value. The index value can be 0, 1, or 2. The exact pan/tilt values for each index are specified in robot configuration files. head head vel pan 5.0 tilt The head command controls the head motion. 10.0 It can send commands in two modes, identified by keyword: either positional (“pos”) or velocity (“vol”). In velocity mode, the pan and tilt values are desired velocities of the head on the pan and tilt axes, in degree/sec. A single command can include just the pan section, or just the tilt section, or both. keepalive keepalive The keepalive command causes no action, but keeps the communication (socket) link open so that a session can continue. In scripts, it can be used to introduce delay time into the action. odometry odometry 5 The odometry command enables the flow of odometry messages from the robot. The argument is the number of times odometry is to be reported each second. A value of 0 turns odometry off. reboot reboot The reboot command causes the robot computer to reboot immediately. The ongoing session is immediately broken off. restoreHeadPosition restoreHeadPosition The restoreHeadPosition functions like the gotoHomePosition command, but it homes the head to a position previously saved with gotoHomePosition. saveHeadPosition saveHeadPosition The saveHeadPosition command causes the robot to save the current head position (pan and tilt) in a scratch location in temporary storage so that this position can be restored. Subsequent calls to “restoreHeadPosition” will restore this saved position. Each call to saveHeadPosition overwrites any previously saved position. setCameraFocus setCameraFocus 100.0 The setCameraFocus command controls focus for the camera on the robot side. The value sent is passed “raw” to the video application running on the robot, which interprets it according to its own specification. setCameraZoom setCameraZoom 100.0 The setCameraZoom command controls zoom for the camera on the robot side. The value sent is passed “raw” to the video application running on the robot, which interprets it according to its own specification. shutdown Shutdown The shutdown command shuts down the robot and powers down its computer. stop stop The stop command directs the robot to stop moving immediately. It is assumed this will be as sudden a stop as the mechanism can safely accommodate. timing Timing 3245629 500 The timing message is used to estimate message latency. It holds the UCT value (seconds + milliseconds) of the time the message was sent, as recorded on the sending machine. To do a valid test, you must compare results in each direction (i.e., sending from machine A to machine B, then from machine B to machine A) in order to account for differences in the clocks between the two machines. The robot records data internally to estimate average and maximum latency over the course of a session, which it prints to log files. userTask userTask “Jane Doe” The userTask command notifies the robot of “Remote Visit” the current user and task. It typically is sent once at the start of the session, although it can be sent during a session if the user and/or task change. The robot uses this information for record-keeping.

Table IV provides a list of reporting commands that are generated by the robot and transmitted to the remote station through the network. TABLE IV Reporting Commands Command Example Description abnormalExit abnormalExit This message informs the user that the robot software has crashed or otherwise exited abnormally. Te robot software catches top- level exceptions and generates this message if any such exceptions occur. bodyType bodyType 3 The bodyType message informs the station which type body (using the numbering of the mechanical team) the current robot has. This allows the robot to be drawn correctly in the station user interface, and allows for any other necessary body-specific adjustments. driveEnabled driveEnabled true This message is sent at the start of a session to indicate whether the drive system is operational. emergencyShutdown emergencyShutdown This message informs the station that the robot software has detected a possible “runaway” condition (an failure causing the robot to move out of control) and is shutting the entire system down to prevent hazardous motion. odometry odometry 10 20 340 The odometry command reports the current (x, y) position (cm) and body orientation (degrees) of the robot, in the original coordinate space of the robot at the start of the session. sensorGroup group_data Sensors on the robot are arranged into groups, each group of a single type (bumps, range sensors, charge meter, etc.) The sensorGroup message is sent once per group at the start of each session. It contains the number, type, locations, and any other relevant data for the sensors in that group. The station assumes nothing about the equipment carried on the robot; everything it knows about the sensors comes from the sensorGroup messages. sensorState groupName state data The sensorState command reports the current state values for a specified group of sensor. The syntax and interpretation for the state data is specific to each group. This message is sent once for each group at each sensor evaluation (normally several times per second). systemError systemError This message informs the station user of a driveController failure in one of the robot's subsystems. The error_type argument indicates which subsystem failed, including driveController, sensorController, headHome. systemInfo systemInfo wireless 45 This message allows regular reporting of information that falls outside the sensor system such as wireless signal strength. text text “This is some The text string sends a text string from the text” robot to the station, where the string is displayed to the user. This message is used mainly for debugging. version version 1.6 This message identifies the software version currently running on the robot. It is sent once at the start of the session to allow the station to do any necessary backward compatibility adjustments.

While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments are merely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention, and that this invention not be limited to the specific constructions and arrangements shown and described, since various other modifications may occur to those ordinarily skilled in the art. 

1. A mobile robot system that is controlled through an input device, comprising: a robot that has a camera within a camera reference coordinate system fixed to said camera and a mobile platform; and, an input device that causes movement of said camera and said mobile platform within the camera reference coordinate system.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein said input device is a joystick.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein said input device includes a mode button that allows the system to be switched between a mode wherein said mobile platform moves within the camera reference coordinate system or a mode wherein said mobile platform moves within a platform reference coordinate system.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein said mobile platform rotates to align an axis of a platform reference coordinate system fixed to said mobile platform with an axis of the camera reference coordinate system.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein movement of said mobile platform is accompanied by a movement of said camera.
 6. The system of claim 2, wherein twisting said joystick causes rotation of said camera and pivoting said joystick causes said mobile platform to move.
 7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a computer coupled to said input device and said robot.
 8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a wireless base station coupled to said robot and said input device.
 9. The system of claim 8, further comprising a broadband network that is coupled to said wireless base station and said input device.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein said robot includes a monitor.
 11. A mobile robot system that is controlled through an input device, comprising: a robot that has a camera within a camera reference coordinate system fixed to said camera, and a mobile platform; and, input means for moving said camera and said mobile platform within the camera reference coordinate system.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein said input means includes a joystick.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein said input means includes a mode button that allows the system to be switched between a mode wherein said mobile platform moves within the camera reference system or a mode wherein said mobile platform moves within a platform reference coordinate system.
 14. The system of claim 11, wherein said mobile platform rotates to align an axis of a platform reference coordinate system fixed to said mobile platform with an axis of the camera reference coordinate system.
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein movement of said mobile platform is accompanied by a movement of said camera.
 16. The system of claim 12, wherein twisting said joystick causes rotation of said camera and pivoting said joystick causes said mobile platform to move.
 17. The system of claim 11, wherein said input means includes a computer.
 18. The system of claim 11, further comprising a wireless base station coupled to said robot and said input means.
 19. The system of claim 18, further comprising a broadband network that is coupled to said wireless base station and said input means.
 20. The system of claim 1, wherein said robot includes a monitor.
 21. A method for controlling a robot, comprising: moving a camera of a robot within a camera reference coordinate system that is fixed to the camera; and, moving the robot within the camera reference coordinate system.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the robot is in a mode where the robot moves within a platform reference coordinate system.
 23. The method of claim 21, wherein the robot has a mobile platform with a platform reference coordinate system, and the mobile platform is rotated so that an axis of a platform reference coordinate system is aligned with an axis of the camera reference coordinate system.
 24. The method of claim 21, wherein the robot receives commands from a wireless base station.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein the command is transmitted through a broadband network.
 26. The method of claim 21, wherein the camera and robot are moved through manipulation of a joystick. 